Microsoft to launch Bing Fund start-up incubator

Microsoft is preparing to debut an investment program for start-ups and entrepreneurs. The program, to be called Bing Fund and headed by VoodooPC founder Rahul Sood, will launch later in July.

According to a Microsoft job posting, the Angel incubator will work with start-ups focussing on “the web, desktop, mobile and console.” Another job posting describes the project as “a small team working with startups and accelerators to bring a wave of innovation to OSD.”

The Bing Fund site reveals no details but says, “We’re working on something fun and will have more to share soon.” On Twitter, the fund has posted a handful of innovation- and entrepreneurship-themed haikus, promising that “bing fund is coming.”

No word yet on whether, or to what extent, Microsoft’s Bing search engine will have to be used by start-ups receiving support from the fund.

Sood revealed on Twitter that he has been working on the project since January. Sood joined HP after the company acquired VoodooPC. But after resigning from HP in late 2010, he joined Microsoft, where he served as general manager of its Interactive Entertainment Group department.